Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1887-07-30
The Kirwin Independents GIisrep-
resentation Of this Paper-Ex-
PLANTATION Of the Situation.

PLANTATION Of the Situation.
The KirWin Independent Of July 2lst,
referring to the printing done by US last
| spring, in the matter Of the special
/ election at which bonds were voted to
/ the @. X. & n. II. r., makes some
false if not malicious charges against US:
| 1t says:
Plum township Is confronted with bill for
SO 50 for publication Of their recent township
tisement a little over half column In length
I q half thousand ems and would cost 10 set and
I prove by copy not 70 exceed 500.
/ Now the fact is, that we not only
| printed the proclamation, but the petit
| tons for the election, and all the pre-
| liminaries accompanying and prior to
/ the proclamation making in all fftv-six
and One-half squares. OF this, thirty-six
and One-half squares went in one issue
Of the HERALD, and twenty squares
were printed five weeks. Now the
question naturally arises: DID the edi-
tor Of the Independent Intentionally
thus grossly misrepresent as as 70 the
amount Of printing DONE for each
township, or did he do It unintentiOn-
allyn Our charges for the above print
ing is Just what the statute of Kansas
says shall be paid for such printing
no moreno less. Again the indie
pendent says:
The Phillipsburg Herald published the sherifs
ProclamatioHs aud is under contract tOPublish
the proceedings OF the Board, Sheriff 8 prOclama-
nation and other printing for the board at one
sixth Of legal rates, il now presents IA bill for
publishing this proclamation at full legal rates,
nOtWiths landing its contract. The Herald will
defend itself in this by claiming that this is
the very county commissioners with whom the
HERALD made its contract.
Yes, the HERALD has a contract with
the County to do "cOunty printing at
1G % cents per square or one sixth
legal rates. But was this Railroad
Election printing done for the five town
ships, county printing! IL it was, then
we are entitled to but one sixth legal
rates? Now the unvarnished truth in
this matter is, that the Board of Com
missiOners thought the printing should
be paid for by Plum, Arcade, Phillips
burg, Mound and PrairieView town
snip, and not by the county at large.
So thought prominent lawyers we con-
suited. Being in doubt TO whom we
should present our bill for printing
done, we wrote to NJ A. Low, Presi-
dent of the G. X. & n Company. He
replied, saying that ''the expenses for
said printing should be paid by the
townships and cities in which the spec
ial elections are held"
We found upon enquiry that such has
been the practice all over Kansas, and
the Supreme Court has decided that the
townships shall pay such expenses, and
not the county at large. And there are
many good reasons for this decision
for why should townships away in the
remote corners of the county be re-
quired to assist in paying the expenses
of railroad elections held in Phillips
burg or some township in another part
of the county.
With this view of the matter, we pre-
sented our claim for printing to the re-
spective townships at the regular price
fixed by law What sane man who is
not political demagOgue would have
expected us to have done otherwise.
The custom all over Kansas has been
for local papers to get their pay at legal
rates from the townships; President
Low said there was the proper place to
present the claims; our legal advisers
here told us the same thing; the County
Commissioners took the same view; the
Supreme Court has decided it that way,
and the statute designated what fees
should be paid, Therefore we present.
ed our clam at legal rates, in the same
way and TO the same place, that hun
dreds Of other Kansas publishers have
been doing for the past twenty years +,
are now doing, and will continue to do,
and yet the Kirwin Independent man
comes out in his paper, Wickedly mis-
| represents US as TO the amount OF print
I ING done, and then tries to smirch our
good name and injure US as men and
citizens by saying our action ''smacks
[ of Doodle.
Legal rates may be high, but they
/ are fixed by law, and if too high it is
no fault of ours, Could It be expected
/ that we would, without being request
ed donate all or a portion of our honest
/ earnings. We have lately donated
/ claims for work done for various public
causes, but nobody asked US TO donate for
these i've townships, though we did
donate time labor, and several hundred
extra HERALDs TO the public during the
''bond-campaign" last spring. Even
now, when we ascertain from whom,
and when. and how, we shall get our
pay for printing done for these five
townships, we would be generous and
not demand every dollar we earned and
which is rightly due us; but we are
not willing 70 hire extra printers, issue
for five weeks half-sheeG supplements,
and be to u heavy expense to do print
ing for the public and then be beaten
out of it because a political paper.
taking advantage of some supposed
technicality in the law, raises Il hue
aud cry for the purpose of tughtning
"eek-kneed politicians, and TO make
political buncOmb for his party es-
pecially so when We are clearly in the
right and are fortified in our position
by law, by custom, by the highest court
in the State, and by equity and Justice.
If that railroad printing for these
five townships is County Printing 81
then we will cheerfully submit to do
the work at one-sixth legal rates, but
we want somebody who has authority
To say so, besides the Independent sdi-
tor, to decide that it is County Print
ing. II Is not county printing and
must be paid for by the townships
as is held by President Low, prom
iHent lawyers, the Supreme Court,
and by the Commissioners in nearly
every county in Kansas, then we do not
propose to take One-sixth Of our entire
claim, and receipt it in full, There is
however, no spirit of ShylOok in the
HERALD. We have instructed our legal
| representative to meet the parties who
are TO pay this expense in a generous,
magnanimOGs spirit, and settle on 8
fair, just, honest, hOnOrable basis.
The Dispatch of this city got full
legal rates for the railroad printing it
did; SO have the other papers in other
counties. No Judge or CLERK of that
special railroad election; no Sheriff or
County Clerk nor member Of Board oil
Commissioners; no county or township
officer is asked to take less for his ser
vfces than the law allows him. but the